Chapter 13
Brooke
I scrolled through another useless public website page on my laptop, almost ready to slam the lid shut. The official Pompeii Archaeological Park website included only one map with information about the underground system, taken from a news article years ago.
I’d found another study that included maps and photos of the tunnels near the forum and bath complexes, following the block around the amphitheater, but nothing underneath it.
“This is pointless,” I said, pushing back from the dining room table where we’d established our operations center. “There’s not enough information. We need to get on site.”
Lives were at risk. And here I was, once again, working with incomplete intel.
How was I on the stunning Amalfi Coast of Italy, a bastion of history and innovation, but I was still suffering the same challenges as when I was battling against an uncooperative Syrian government or insurgents plotting my demise in Afghanistan?
“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered, pacing away from the table.
Drew took my seat, scanning the inadequate maps. “We should contact Brie and see if her team can find anything.”
I gripped the collar of my turtleneck, rubbing the fabric between my fingers.
Today was a light merino. It always irritated the scars for the first hour.
“The article I found suggests the drainage system should extend throughout the entire city, including the amphitheater, but I can’t find any specifics.
What would Brie be able to do that we can’t? ”
“She can find a needle before you even know there’s a haystack,” Emmett said from the other end of the table, where he was doing his own search.
I didn’t need the Reynolds team for this. I needed my own team.
Bobcat’s contingent in the city center might have been under surveillance, but Pendragon was far larger than that, with all the resources I needed.
If I flew this intel up the flagpole, and we had another mole, they might send us back something completely fabricated to interfere with our work. Or maybe the other mole would tip Fenix off about Noah, and we’d lose our own mole.
I paced to the window and stared out at the olive grove across the road, which blocked only part of the sea view.
Keyboards clacked quietly, and everyone’s breathing grew too loud.
There were too many people in this room, waiting for the rest of their team to return, and Scarlett told them all what to do.
We’d heard the entire conversation over their comms system, but they’d been radio silent since they left the meet.
Somewhere outside, a gull screeched.
“We should talk to Mario,” I said, turning back to the room. “He works at the archaeological park. He’d have access to the actual excavation records.”
Malcolm shook his head immediately. “We can’t involve him. The less he knows about what we’re doing, the better.”
“He already knows we’re looking for something,” Drew countered, still sitting at my laptop. “If Noah’s right about the three-day timeline, we need that information now, not after days of hoping Brie can find something.”
Emmett frowned. “Can we trust him?”
“Your mother wouldn’t have arranged for us to stay here if we couldn’t,” Drew said.
“You realize she went through an antiquities smuggler for the recommendation, right?” Malcolm chuckled. How was he so flippant at a time like this?
“From the smuggler to Antonio Ferraro,” corrected Emmett. “And we trusted Ferraro in Monaco, right? He’s vouched for Mario, which means—”
The door to the study opened, and Mario appeared, dressed in khakis and a button-down blue shirt. He was fastening a black watch.
The tension in the room vanished in an instant, as though our mission were precisely on point. Jayce was slower to react and cover her frustration than the others, but followed their lead.
Drew stood with the mug he’d been toting around this morning. “The coffee is fantastic. Honey and chocolate notes, if I’m not mistaken?”
Apparently, they’d decided not to loop Mario in, without stating as much.
“It is, but don’t ask where I get the beans from. Old family secret.” Mario winked at Drew. “I’m heading to work, but wanted to make sure everyone has what they need before I go. Fresh beans are ready for the coffee, and there are more pastries on the counter. Make yourselves at home.”
“We appreciate everything.” Drew shifted his weight, subtly blocking the laptop from Mario. “But I’m going to search for those beans anyway.”
Mario tilted to look around Drew, as though he’d spotted something on the laptop before Drew moved. “Interested in our drainage systems?”
I exchanged glances with Emmett, who shook his head slowly.
This was ridiculous. We didn’t have to tell him everything.
“Mario,” I said, “we need your help.”
His eyebrows rose, and he stepped around Drew. “Of course. What can I do?”
At that moment, I heard the front door open, followed by the clack of heels on the tile and voices. Rav, Scarlett, and Zac were back.
Before I could continue, Drew said, “We’re searching for something that’s apparently hidden in the sewer system beneath the amphitheater.”
Mario’s brows furrowed. “Hidden?”
The trio entered the room, and my eyes locked with Rav’s immediately. There was weight in that look. Worry, fear, resolve. A shiver ran up my spine. He wasn’t a worrier, so something wasn’t right.
A tiny voice in the back of my head urged me forward, so he could wrap those muscular arms around me. He’d tell me everything would be okay. But that wasn’t his job anymore, so I shut the voice down.
Scarlett asked, “Sit rep?”
I took Drew’s lead and filled Mario in more. “We were asking Mario for a hand with better maps of the area under the amphitheater.”
She gave a curt nod. “Our source confirmed that’s our target.”
“Target?” Mario looked between us, confusion evident. “What exactly are you looking for?”
“Scarlett,” said Emmett, “we hadn’t decided yet whether—”
Screw dancing around the topic. Scarlett had given me an opening, and I was taking it. “An organization called The Fenix Group is planning to release a chemical agent during a concert at the amphitheater.”
“We think,” said Rav, not hiding his skepticism.
I’d been working on the assumption that Noah’s information was accurate. Did Rav doubt him?
“Chemical agent?” Mario’s face paled. “You mean… a weapon?”
“It’s called Greek Fire,” I continued. “A dual-purpose compound which, in the right concentration, can cause severe chemical burns and systemic damage. They’re going to release it through the drainage holes in the amphitheater floor during the concert.”
“Mio dio,” Mario whispered, sinking into a nearby chair. “There will be thousands of people in attendance.”
“That’s why we need to stop them,” Rav said, his voice calm but intense.
I didn’t look at him, but his tone sent a ripple of recognition through me—the same controlled urgency he’d used in Afghanistan when briefing local officials about chemical threats.
“And we need accurate information about those tunnels to do it.”
Mario’s shock transformed into concern. “Why aren’t the police handling this? Or military? This sounds like—”
“Because Fenix has connections inside law enforcement,” Rav interrupted. “If we alert the authorities, someone will warn Fenix, and they’ll simply change the time and location. We’d be in the dark again.”
Mario ran a hand through his hair, visibly processing this information. “So what do you do?”
“Confirm it’s there,” I said. “Then either dismantle it—”
“Or call in a bomb threat so the place evacuates before anyone’s hurt,” said Rav.
Mario pulled out his phone and began typing. “I can help.”
Scarlett’s phone buzzed, and she pulled it out of her small handbag.
“I’ve sent you some files, including the most recent excavation surveys of the amphitheater area,” he said, pointing at Scarlett’s phone. “Most of the original drainage system remains filled with volcanic debris.”
Scarlett tapped a few things on her phone as she walked toward Emmett. “Pull that up.”
Emmett swiveled his monitor to show detailed technical drawings that made the public maps look like children’s doodles.
“Only these main channels have been cleared.” Mario joined them, tracing several pathways leading from the amphitheater floor to the exterior.
“The longest path connects from the Small Theater to the House of the Arches, and finally to the Pompeii Amphitheater. There are maintenance sheds with access at each point.”
Rav settled between Scarlett and Mario. “This is good.”
“The closest access point is here.” Mario indicated a spot near the southern end of the amphitheater. “They’re all kept locked, but I have the keys.”
I joined the group huddled around the suddenly too-small monitor, stepping in front of Rav to see better. Emmett clicked to another image, a drone photo with higher resolution than the satellite images we’d been reviewing.
The amphitheater was an oval, with stadium seating around the edges.
Much of the seating area was inaccessible, covered in grass, which meant the crowd would be on the arena floor.
Unfortunately, the short wall encircling the floor was also where the drainage holes were, so that’s where the Greek Fire would be deployed—assuming Noah’s intel was accurate.
Rav used the mouse to return to the sewer map. He pointed to a spot that indicated an incomplete excavation. “The blockages actually work in our favor—fewer access points means a more predictable pattern.”
“Greek Fire in liquid form is dense,” I said.
“It doesn’t aerosolize easily without a catalyst or significant pressure.
That means they’d need specialized pumping equipment, multiple canister locations, or both.
Plus, it’s so caustic, nothing off-the-shelf would handle this compound without degrading. ”
“Unless Noah was lying and they intend to deploy it from the top down?”